Through the partnership with the New Haven Gay and Lesbian Community Center, WFC SACS has been able to offer drop in hours on Tuesdays from 12p-3:45 and Thursdays from 12:30p-8p. We have established a group for survivors of sexual violence who identify as LGBTQI and we will be working to establish a group for Parents and Partners: In Support of LGBTQI survivors of sexual violence.
If you would like more information about services available please contact Anja Schaedler at 203-389-5010.
21st Annual Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Out Film CT is pleased to announce the line-up of the 21st Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Festival Director Shane Engstrom stated, "This year's line-up of 50 feature films, documentaries and shorts is one of the best collections of films we have ever brought to the big screen in Connecticut. Our audiences are in for a treat with some outstanding new features that include a 2007 Academy Award submission and even a World Premiere of a bold new drama."
The festival opens on Friday, May 30th, with an explosion of the senses with the visually and musically spectacular Were the World Mine, a modern-day, gay Midsummer Night’s Dream. Vice President Suzanne Shayer points out, "This year, the festival's programming committee reached abroad to bring in a number of international films that normally wouldn't make it to Hartford. We'll be featuring films from France (The Witnesses, The New World), Argentina (XXY), South Africa (The World Unseen), and our Closing Night film is set in the breathtaking countryside of China (The Chinese Botanist's Daughters)."
The 2008 festival will also include several films that focus on gender identity, including: Manuela & Manuel; Risk, Stretch and Die; XXY; and She’s A Boy I Knew. States Engstrom, "It’s refreshing to see that independent filmmaking has moved way beyond documentaries that focus exclusively on the transitioning process. Films that we’ve shown in the past like Audience Award winner Beautiful Boxer and Another Woman have paved the way for the wave of transgender comedies, dramas and refreshing documentaries that are included in this year’s festival."
Other documentaries explore a wide variety of LGBT topics, from the history of the gay rights movement through the eyes of the founder of Metropolitan Community Church (Call Me Troy), to the personal struggles and political challenges of Connecticut’s same-sex couples fighting for the freedom to marry (Marriage Makes A Word of Difference), and an entertaining view into the world of international gay rugby (Walk Like A Man).
The full festival schedule and online ticket sales are available at www.OutFilmCT.org
Women and Families Center Sexual Assault Crisis Service (WFC SACS) provides free and confidential services to survivors of sexual violence and their loved ones. Services included individual and group support, accompaniment and advocacy through medical, police and legal systems, and primary prevention education for the community.
